Sunday, January 27, 2019

Admin's note: I've been writing recaps for the various shows the Gosselin have popped up on for over a decade now. When I started this blog I made a goal to include recaps for all the episodes, and set about diligently recapping everything that was new to air going forward. Of course real life gets in the way sometimes and I missed episodes here and there, but I always vowed to go back to recapping any missed episodes, which I have managed to do in little spurts over the past couple years. Even though it's usually easier to recap episodes as soon as they air, it's been interesting to go back and look at these old episodes so carefully years later, knowing what we know now. I have noticed things in hindsight, particularly about Collin, and the dynamic between Kate and some of her children, I'm sure I never would have otherwise. It's been an interesting exercise indeed. Finally I've achieved this goal with this final recap of an old episode I missed, the kids' eleventh birthday. It remains to be seen whether we will ever see Kate or the family on air again, so perhaps, this is my last ever recap of this saga. Only the future knows.

Coming up on Kate Plus 8, another tedious birthday episode. This time the kids are turning eleven. Thirteen is still two years away but for some reason Kate wants to harp on the teenage years looming. Could we just live in the moment right now, and embrace ten going into eleven? It's a great age, arguably one of the best ages a kid can ever be (they're old enough to pretty much be game for anything, and capable of it too, but still young enough to think their parents are still the best people in the world). I've never seen a person so constantly looking either backwards or forwards. It's not healthy.

You guessed it, Kate's blabbing on for awhile mostly about her, because all of the kids' birthdays are always all about her feelings and opinions.

Kate goes on yet again about how relaxed she is as the years go by, but the truth is she is still harping on this that and the other thing and there is still lots of chaos and yelling in a house this delusional woman thinks is so much calmer.

Having your desk/office area in the middle of the dining room is just pathetic in a house this size and looks tacky, always has. She has lots of tacky things going on in this house, usually it amounts to furniture way too big for the space or arranged awkwardly. Would it kill her to get an interior designer in here just for a day or two or poke around pinterest? A few modest changes would do wonders for this house. Things that work fine in more modest quarters don't translate to McMansions. Why bother? Just live like the rest of us then.

Kate's frantically cutting muenster cheese into little blocks. I freaking love muenster cheese, I could eat that stuff by the pound. And that's why you can't ever wash that blue out of my blue collar, I own it.

Kate's doing a "progressive" birthday party for the kids in multiple different locations, or as us adults call it, bar hopping. She knows she didn't event this concept, right? Just checking.

Mady seems to understand why the sextuplets birthdays are always so big, because even if the kids each only invite one friend, that's a hundred million people. Well, no, it's just 12 people, but I get what she's saying and I'm glad she seems to have developed some understanding now why everything to do with the sextuplets "appears" to be so much grander than the things she does or receives, because it's times 6. Though in recent years just times 5 and now times 4. Heh....

Kate's micromanaging the packing of their bags to an absurd level. If you must oversee it that carefully, just do it yourself. To involve the kids in the packing but then be such a hard-ass about it just frustrates the kids and puts them off wanting to chip in and do the chore of packing at all. The truth is, an eleven-year-old kid really isn't capable of packing a bag on their own. I know, I went abroad with 30 of them. They have no idea what they need or what's appropriate. In their heads maybe a couple t-shirts, shorts and sneakers suffices for any and all occasions, they pack things they shouldn't like some huge toy or the family gerbil, and they're notorious for forgetting really important things like a jacket or a toothbrush. There are a lot of things kids should start being responsible for at that age and can handle, but that ain't one of them. And we're back to Kate having no understanding of child development.

The kids and Kate have a long and unnecessary-to-the-plot conversation about who is coming to the party, but I'm mostly distracted by the sheer amount of STUFF in this room. I never quite figured out what this room is supposed to be, but it appears to be off a more formal dining room. I dislike houses that have rooms without a clear purpose, or extra rooms. You don't need two dining rooms or two living rooms. That's a relic of more formal, stuffy days when you would have rooms you entertain in and rooms you would actually live in. It's outdated, and houses designed like this clearly leave somebody like Kate at a loss. They've got Kate's messy desk crammed in this room, a bench with a bunch of laundry that's not put away, a table that can at most comfortably hold four people, which seems like an odd choice for a family this size, what's more they've squeezed the piano in this room too, and even some couches! It's like a room that doesn't know what it is. It looks like a furniture store only people are living in it, it's that bad. Maybe because I'm watching way too much of Flipping Out on Bravo that I feel hypercritical of the circus in this room, but it really is soooo bad.

Nooooo, not more flashbacks! I refuse to recap any more clips. Refuse! We randomly launch into Kate's description of Leah. Maybe she'll do this for all the kids? Kate's description is almost exclusively about how Leah is physically small and always has been. Nothing about what personality traits make her such a good kid, nothing about what she likes to do and where her talents lie, no funny stories Kate has to share about her. Just, she's super tiny.

They meet up with their friends and then Kate drives them to the roller rink. I'm unclear how they all got there, because it seems like there are far more kids than spots on the bus.

They skate at a roller rink. Nothing happens. They either rented the whole place out, or this a roller rink straight out of The Walking Dead, because there's nobody else here. I understand it's probably easier to deal with filming when just your cast is on set, but it's yet another experience in the long line of experiences that these children have had that just aren't typical or realistic. The idea that anybody but the most insanely wealthy will ever be able to afford to rent out an entire rink for a birthday, is absurd.

Kate gives herself an incredible amount of credit for all sorts of things including planning the party and then pats herself on her back for letting the kids go off with their friends at the party. Congratulations woman, here's your award. Now even better, next year just come to the friends' party at the end, and have a family party another day where you attend it all. Kate snaps at kids far too old to be running in parking lots to stop running in parking lots. Eh, they're fine, all the cars in the lot belong to production and they're all still back inside tearing down the set

Next stop, pizza. Kate forgot that pizza restaurants often sometimes serve things other than pizza, which is too complicated for Kate. The waitress is trying to hard sell Kate on the Sicilian pizza, probably because they ordered too much of that dough or something today, but Kate's not falling for that. Oh my god the pizza looks amazing. Northeast Coast pizza. There really is nothing like it. It's really unbelievable how bad the pizza is where I live compared to the pies I've had in Pennsylvania and other nearby states. Pizza, I miss you.

Now they're picking out cakes at a bakery. Seems like skating and a pizza party for a birthday is plenty for even the most spoiled of children, but leave it to Kate to push the limits of everything. She's in some kind of weird competition with somebody, who I don't know. Kate says nothing about Aaden for a moment other than she can't believe he's eleven, and then they just have to rehash cupcake gate yet again, this time with Aaden sitting right there grinning about it so we all know that was all okay because look, see, he gets a kick out of it now! Because nobody in the history of child abuse has ever laughed about the abuse they endured when they were younger. (On the contrary, laughing over it later is an extremely common and normal reaction many victims have.) Cupcake gate really bothers Kate, and she takes every chance she can to explain it away. I just love that that gets under her skin. Mission accomplished, haters!

And now, to the hotel. It appears the only reason they are at a hotel is to use one of its conference rooms for the cake. What the hay? Why not just do it at the house? It's not like this is a kid friendly room. It looks like a room better suited to laptops and spreadsheets and free coffee, not a children's birthday. Lori is a good friend of the family who was happy to help them with the party. Lori?? Never heard of her, which usually means she's actually just part of production. And not a few minutes ago Kate was patting herself on the back for how Kate planned this whole party, she never mentioned no Lori. Now she admits Lori did most of it? So funny.

How in the world did the cake shop make these cakes so fast and get them to the hotel ahead of the party? Well, that makes no sense. The magic of the movies I suppose!

I'm glad Kate doesn't make everyone sing happy birthday six times. Just once for the boys and once for the girls. And I actually think it's rather sweet that she does light the candles six times so they can each blow out the candles on their own. That was a thoughtful touch, actually. And in an unusual moment of Kate actually being fair, she tells the twins to buzz off when they try to jump in on the middle of Kate serving the cake and demand their pieces. Kate's like, nope not now, it's not your birthday. Good lord, finally someone tells the twins to knock it the f off with their absurd, entitled, rude and immature behavior toward their siblings and others. The immature girls then whine a bit on the couch about how their next birthday better be this grand. It's really, really unattractive.

Kate's one of those parents always whining about their kids being hyper from sugar. It's annoying and a deflection for poor parenting. Also, it's their birthday. Of all days of the year they should be able to have as much sugar as they like and act a little crazy. Also, as a nurse, I'm surprised she hasn't heard the pretty widely circulated memo going all the way back to the 90's that there is absolutely no correlation between sugar and hyper-activity. So it's either bad parenting, the kid has special needs, or a kid is just being a kid.

It takes forever to get through the segment where they open presents. If you think it's boring to watch a person in real life open their presents, imagine watching it on T.V. The kids are excited and grateful.

Kate talks about how parentified Hannah always has been, as if she is proud of this. On the contrary, I am generally concerned for parentificatied kids and so are psychologists. Tellingly, Kate says Hannah is the child who most wishes her parents weren't divorced and doesn't know how to fix it. Yet, Kate doesn't mention how she, Kate, is helping her child deal with these very normal emotions, if at all. Eventually, that lack of help will lead to Hannah leaving Kate and going to live with the person who does fulfill her emotional needs. I recently skimmed an article about someone I usually hate, Goopy, that wretched Gweneth Paltrow woman, who actually had some really wise things to say about helping divorced kids. Apparently the Goopster took both her ex and her kids along on her honeymoon with her new husband: "We just wanted to minimize the pain for the kids.They just want to see their parents around the dinner table, basically, so we just try to keep that." Her oldest kid is just four days younger than the tups.

Kate says Hannah often asks if she's "okay."

"I can tell when you're not okay," says Hannah matter-of-factly, even when Kate pretends she's okay. The unanswered question I have is why in the world is an 11-year-old wasting a moment of her brief childhood fixated on whether her mother is "okay," and what is Kate doing to help her not be so preoccupied with such unhealthy fixations? Rhetorical question, my guess is based on Kate's own statements and body language she loves this fixation some of the kids have on her, she loves being doted on, and she uses children to fulfill emotional needs that only she or other adults should be responsible for. It is not a surprise that at least some of these children as they've gotten older are tired of being their mother's soft place to fall and have gone on to live with their father where he doesn't depend on children to meet his emotional needs.

Kate threatens to strip search the kids if they don't leave their play weapons behind in the party room, and like typical 11-year-olds, they go absolutely bonkers at the idea that somebody might be.....naked!!!! Heh.

Spending the night in this hotel sounds more like something a 40-year-old would like for their birthday, not an 11-year-old, which is what I expect happened. Kate thought what she, Kate, would like for her birthday, and projected that on to the kids. Nonetheless the kids seem to be enjoying this, so oh well. They only have two hotel rooms for 18 people! Granted I guess at least the rooms are more like two per group because they're adjoining, but it seems to me two of the rooms are just for Kate and Lori, so that's still 8 kids in one room. Are they really allowed to put this many people in one room, or is this some special accommodation yet again for filming that the kids will not understand years later doesn't work in real life?

Why is it so important for Kate that they take showers tonight? I wouldn't bother to try to shower these kids, they can shower when they get back to their respective homes. It's just one night. I wouldn't expect any parent to want another parent to make sure their 11-year-old gets showered for only one night. This is a great example of Kate always adding unnecessary aggravation to everyone's plates.

I kind of like Lori. She speaks to the girls calmly, and gives gentle reminders to mind their manners. She seems like an adult who is like 10 percent invested in these kids, but would like quiet so she can get some sleep tonight so. A dead ringer for someone who is just part of production. Who is she, and how come we've never seen her again?

Uh-oh, the girls think this is nottttt fair. Why? Because their rooms are smaller than the boys. Oy. I didn't do it on purpose, Kate insists. Of course she didn't. If she did it on purpose, the girls' room would be the best one. Kate uses great parenting techniques to mediate this situation like yelling at the girls that they are ruining their party, and telling them she will never do this for them again. That's soooo helpful in this situation. Why doesn't she just go around to each girl and inventory where they will sleep and ensure they have a matress of some kind and enough pillows and all that, and then calmly tell them she loves them and to have a great night and she'll see them in the morning and don't leave your room unless it's an emergency? Ignore their whining and complaining. This is not a difficult problem. The girls want to escalate it, but if Kate doesn't engage, it can't be escalated. Of course this is Kate we're talking about, so she immediately gets down in the mud with the 11-year-olds.

Why did the girls even see the boys room in the first place to know it was so much bigger? That was a mistake. The one thing Kate did right in this situation is to not get the boys involved. Curious about what's going on, Collin asks Kate about what the drama was all over there and Kate basically tells him it's not a big deal don't worry about it. The last thing you need is to involve more kids in this conflict or for the boys to know that the drama is over the girls being jealous of the boys' room (the boys could then use that information to tease the girls, which will just make things worse). The number one thing I've noticed these kids seem to fight about over the years is sleeping arrangements. Who knew that's what would set them off? We used to have family reunions with a dozen kids in one ranch house and I never once remember fighting about who would sleep where. We just sort of found an open bed or air mattress or couch and off we went to dreamland. Weird.

The next morning, ha, Kate looks hung over. Alexis says smugly that she wakes up the "prettiest" after sleepovers, heh, and all the girls fight over this.

Kate knocks on Mady and Cara's door and they refuse to come to the door. Kate thinks this is hilarious and harasses them by pushing their doorbell several times. I think it's completely unacceptable that when you ask your teenager to come to the hotel room door, a hotel you are paying for no less (well in this case, production), that they refuse to come. She created spoiled brats who walk all over their parents by allowing things like this, it's not the children's fault.

Some of the kids are grouchy at the hotel breakfast. There's a big ole boring drama about Alexis being accidentally tripped by one of the girls and then pushing her and then Kate forces her to apologize sincerely, which no eleven-year-old kid can do when they're pissed and in tears. I'm guessing they probably didn't get ten hours of sleep which tends to happen on sleepovers, but as per the usual, Kate doesn't help things and instead engages with the grouchiest ones. If someone is being grouchy, best to just ignore them or if it's out of control, send her back to her room and she can come to breakfast when she's feeling calm. I'm pretty convinced Kate actually enjoys seeing her kids worked up about whatever they're worked up about at the moment, which if you think about it, is kind of sick. I almost wonder if it might have been best in that situation to just ignore what Alexis did, pretend you didn't see it, or maybe talk to her about it later when she's calmed down. The other Tup wasn't upset and they all seemed to quickly move on from the incident if Kate hadn't intervened. Alexis is eleven, and she'll outgrow pushing her sisters soon enough when she realizes only little kids do that. Trying to take corrective action in front of all her friends when everyone is just trying to sit down and eat was an exercise in futility.

In a rare sweet moment later on the couch Kate and Alexis make a pact that Alexis will never act like a teenager. I've made pacts like that with kids in my life. Heh.

I do like the kids' friends. For the most part they seem nice, normal, not snobby, and sincere in their friendships with the family. Well, that's it folks. Will we see Kate back on our screens again? Stay tuned.

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sediments (sic) from readers:

So, most of party could have happened at the skate rink with a sleepover at home. It’s easy to have a party at a skate rink. Most of them serve pizza and that can be included in your party package. They also let you bring in a cake. My roller derby friends do this on a regular basis during adult only skate hours. We always have fun. Kate made something that could have been simple to plan into a stressful event.

Thanks for the recap admin! No wonder the show isn't on any more! it started out as "look at these cute kids and parents" then devolved into "watch this annoying woman scream at the ordinary school kids". We did once have a birthday party sleepover at Embassy Suites, birthday girl got to invite 3 or 4 friends. the place had an indoor pool, and a friend told me about her child's sleepover party there. it was not too expensive, we got pizzas for dinner and the hotel had continental breakfast the next day. oh, excitement, the hotel fire alarm went off like 2 am and we all had to walk downstairs and wait while the fire dept assured everyone it was a false alarm. the kids thought that was fun! I hadn't thought about that in ages.

Carrying this over from the other thread. About the Abducted in Plain Sight documentary, I think it’s easy to place most of the blame on these parents. Yes they were shown as being extremely naive from start to finish. My feeling though is that this family was very sheltered. They live in a very safe neighborhood and had a loving, trusting community around them. They were probably very unaware of the dangers that could happen. This was also the 70s. Kids were allowed to come and go as they please and parents wouldn’t worry as much as today. Bertroth (spelling?) was a sociopath, master manipulator that had one goal in mind. And that was to get at Jan. He was Very charming and knew exactly what to say and do to get what he wanted. This story is giving me shivers and I’m still shocked at how everything unfolded! I was able to find it on YT, if anyone wants to watch and doesn’t have access to Netflix.

Wow! Is it just me or have birthday parties really changed since I gave parties for my own kids? I really mean wow. I read it and it just rubs off on me Kate goes out of her way to make things...as difficult as possible...on freaking purpose. My goodness.

Sure she has multiple kids, but there's over the top and then there's just I don't know what you call that really.

Gigi Be (4)I do agree, the parents were extremly naive. And maybe it can be blamed on the 70s and their safe neighbordhood. But my son was born in 1977, and even I knew there were dangers out there. It was my job to protect him. And I can't imagine ever being that naive. And the thing that really got to me was the fact they went along with "B" because he threatened blackmail, so they did it to protect themselves! So it wasn't total naivete, it was selfishness. Over and over again my blood pressure went up during this show. Especially watching "B" manipulate everyone as he did. And like you, I too am still shocked how everything unfolded.

Admin, I just read your recap. This is one episode I didn't see, so glad I'm able to read your recap rather than actually watch it. Ugh, the episode sounds boring and as usual, all about Kate. Thanks for the recap.

Admin, you do a great job with the recaps but, damn, does this episode sound even more boring than most.

I don't even understand why they had the sleepover in a hotel. The only thing they did there was have the cake and then breakfast the next day? No swimming or anything else that the kids might find fun? Some hotels have pretty cool game rooms for the kids and stuff like that.

As usual, TFW takes the credit when we all know the producers planned everything, made all the arrangements, and paid for it all. Same old, same old.

It's no surprise Kate eggs her children on or invents drama where there is none. I'm sure the show's producers have been encouraging or straight up ordering her to do so for years. Alexis sobbing in the dentist's chair begging for her blanket comes to mind. In Kate's words "As soon as we handed her her blankie (she stopped crying.) That's all she wanted".

Hannah is a sweet kid but she was the one who bumped into Alexis IIRC.

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While I only watched it once, it looked accidental to me. Or at most kids just being a little rowdy in a small space and it's inevitable somebody is going to get tripped. Alexis completely overreacted to it.

But they're 11, this is just what 11 is. A little pushing a little tripping, feelings hurt, then kids forget it all within minutes and go back to being best friends. Except if some doofus like Kate intervenes and escalates it all.

In thinking about this it's also worth noting that it appears Alexis was goading the girls just before breakfast about how she wakes up fresh as a daisy and they don't. She can dish it but she can't take it.

It's just one of those things where they were all kind of getting under each other's skin a bit and it was inevitable at their ages things get a little grabby-touchy after awhile.

It’s telling that Hannah has to worry about Kate being ok. I had to do the same thing growing up in an abusive house. I knew that when my mom was not ok that I needed to run for cover.

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I'm sorry that happened to you. You are proof that parentified children ARE affected by this, and they do, eventually, realize it's not okay. Is that what Kate wants for her children? That they grow up and realize this is not okay? Come on, Kate.

I agree, three 11 yr old sisters are likely to have little spats, even physical ones. But I do think often H and L were rather mean to Alexis. The boys seemed to get along better over in the icky boy department! But yes. Kate made a big deal of this incident and could have spoiled the birthday kids' mood.

Yes, Alexis does tend to get picked on we've seen that. I see it as a vicious cycle for the poor kid. She gets picked on, she way overreacts, tears and the whole nine yards and pushing, that just encourages the bullying more. Kate intervenes and makes the bullied crying child apologize when she's had it.

At the end of the day if an adult had to intervene it would have been nice if she had all the girls have a time out and deep breath and calm down. But Kate even said I don't care if I humiliate you in front of your friends you're apologizing.

Why does a child need to be humiliated again? Even one in the wrong? Cow.

No swimming or anything else that the kids might find fun? Some hotels have pretty cool game rooms for the kids and stuff like that.

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This hotel seems super, super corporate to me. Really stark.

If they did anything fun at the hotel they didn't show it. There are lots of kid friendly hotels that have a pool and hot tub, evening snacks like chips and salsa, outdoor playground or play area for kids to kick around a soccer ball. Instead they were sent to their rooms, where they ran around like crazy, and I saw Kate putting a DVD to try to shut them up. They can watch a movie any time, the heck?! Kate is so proud of herself to think of things like this for the kids to do, but always misses it by a mile.

I do agree, the parents were extremly naive. And maybe it can be blamed on the 70s and their safe neighbordhood. But my son was born in 1977, and even I knew there were dangers out there.

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I watched some of it but haven't finished yet, this guy sounds Ted Bundy level or R. Kelly in his level of manipulation. The church really didn't help. But I'm tending to air on not giving the parents' the benefit of the doubt, even taking into account the time period. The parents had lots of people who would be on their side and were going to back them up on getting this guy. And as the prosecutor explained the parents' themselves messed up his case.

What I do give them the benefit of the doubt on is not recognizing the signs beforehand he was a predator. We understand better now you see some single guy interested in one particular child, wanting to spend all his time with that child and be alone with them, it's a huge red flag. Back in those days, you were more likely to say oh what a nice guy to take such an interest. Yeah right.

One more thought about Hannah, I realize now the various degrees of bullying and bossiness we saw from the child were the manifestations of some pent up dissatisfaction. Kate remarking that Hannah took the divorce the hardest is a huge clue. We know now this eventually led to her wanting her emotional support and day-to-day parenting from her father, not her mother.

I watched R Kelly too and was horrified. I am an Aaliyah fan, and it's sad what happened to her, but she somehow rose above it to fulfill her dreams before her untimely death. Then many other young girls and women. Why on on earth can't this man be put away!!! Talk about brainwashing.

WTH? NO. Things do not get grabby-touchy! Your parents allowed this? I do hope you don't allow your future children to get away with this. It's a wrong wrong wrong thing to 'allow' to happen. But this will not get posted because you're never wrong about anything ever. LOL

I don’t think Admin meant “grabby-touchy” in a sexual way which is kind of what you’re making it sound like. More like “pushy-shovey” which kids at that age do. I come from a family of 7 kids and believe me I know. Just my opinion on how I read what Admin said and your comment.

What I do give them the benefit of the doubt on is not recognizing the signs beforehand he was a predator. We understand better now you see some single guy interested in one particular child, wanting to spend all his time with that child and be alone with them, it's a huge red flag. Back in those days, you were more likely to say oh what a nice guy to take such an interest. Yeah right.

I think a lot of people tend that these predators have fangs in their mouth and have a scary look to them. These predators wouldn’t be successful in catching their victims if they did. “B” was married, had 5 kids, owned a business, and was looked at fondly by the community. He was attractive even. But another take away here is earlier on, the neighbor friend who would come along on vacations with B and this family saw a the red flags. And he stated that B was very controlling and would try to make others dependent on him almost. This neighbor distanced himself and his family immediately. However, the victims were completely duped to the point of letting a grown sleep in the same bed with their daughter. I just can’t understand that one..

Is that what Al Gore told you before he uses more electricity in his home than the average family will in two decades? He’s made a lot of money off saps like you. Follow the money and look what he’s invested in. He told us five years ago the earth would be in shambles in 2020. It’s not.

For the record I care about the environment because it’s the morally right thing to do because one should take care of their beautiful home. For the record I drive a fully electric car. What do you drive?

I think Hannah suffered greatly from the way Kate labels her children. Leah is the tiny one, Hannah is the little mommy, Alexis is the crazy one...Kate just slapped a one-dimensional label on each kid and stuck with that as they grew. Hannah was expected to live up to her label, but her only mothering skills came from Kate, who mothers by bullying. When she was with Jon, however, he probably connected with her on a much deeper level. He could see her as an individual with an evolving personality, and she needed that. I can't see Kate dealing with anything really complex where the kids are concerned. She's the person who demanded that they wear Velcro shoes well into school age just because she didn't want to be bothered with teaching them how to tie their shoes. I think Hannah decided to live with Jon because she had an emotional/intellectual connection with him that was lacking with her mother. She wanted someone to connect with her, talk to her, and show interest in her thoughts and feelings--not just buy her stuff. Can you imagine Kate having a deep emotional conversation with any individual child? I can't.

Now that I've finished reading the birthday recap, which is very well written, thank you for putting in the time. I have to ponder, however, if now with no filming what their birthday parties are going to consist of now. And what these kids are going to sort of I don't know, expect in a certain way perhaps and if not also come to be disappointed?

I don't know maybe I live in my own reality whereby in I've raised just three kids my husband and I both in the Midwest. I mean sure for certain birthday, I remember one year we had a clown, but the clown was a family friend. ANYWAY , I apologize for the ramble. Our children grew up not with the expectation that every birthday party was going to be large or expensive but we did a few special things for them because like every other parent to us our kids were special.

I keep thinking back to these kids third birthday, and every other birthday pretty much where everyone seems to be just for the filming sake really. Without filming hard to say what their birthday is going to be like now. I mean I hate for any child to feel disappointed on their birthday but with Kate and how she seems to reward herself...sigh. I don't know.

But, Admin, nice job on your recap. It must take you a lot of time (and maybe a nice bottle of wine) to get through that. I don't know, heck I would!

Im not gonna lie,many years ago when me and my mom used to watch the show,she believed that hannah would grow up to be a "spoiled brat"but now that she's with jon and i believe she did play a part with Collin,she honesty doesn't seem like one.She seems to live up to being the most mature one out of all the tups as Kate claims.

Blue Jay (27)I think the kids fully understand that they only get the big birthdays and the big vacations when they're filming. When the show was first cancelled in 2011, Kate said Aaden's reaction was, "No more fun trips?". He knew right away that fun trips only happen when they film, and he was only 7 at the time. I'm sure Kate uses that to get the kids on board with filming--they only get the big house, private school, fun trips and big parties if they agree to film.

I also think Kate tries to squeeze as much "stuff" out of the production budget as she can possibly get. Admin mentioned the hotel being a bit much, but I think Kate looks at each episode and pushes to get every last cent she can squeeze out of it. We talked about the trip to Maine when the show first came back, and I recall someone saying Kate was packing up groceries to take home. There have been so many episodes where they do such random things that aren't at all connected to the theme of the episode. Those are also Kate trying to squeeze out a little more for herself. What did she call them in Robert's book? Fringe benefits? I bet she never let a dime of the production budget go unspent. She is one greedy woman.

I'd be interested in how the thunder-shirt works for Gordon too. It didn't work for my dog's anxiety but many people have good results. We used it for daily anxiety as well as storms, wind, fireworks...Love Sea Gordon's Instagram !

Maybe A was acting out because this was her 9th consecutive birthday celebration being served up to strangers as entertainment.

It's a safe bet that those 6 celebrants had little to no say in the details of their party. Date, time, location, activities, invitees -- every single minute of that party was dictated by TLC, and filmed under the strict control of a production crew. By the time those scenes were filmed, the kids might've been in front of the cameras for hours on end. We know there is no on-set advocate keeping track of their filming time. And their mom has proven to be perfectly comfortable with filming them until they drop. Double ear infections? Migraine headaches? Projectile vomiting? Check.

What a silly comment. The amount of electricity that Al Gore used has no correlation to whether climate change is real. He might be the biggest hypocrite on the planet, but that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the science of climate change. Good to know that you don't believe in science when it's not politically expedient.

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In 5th grade we had a scholastic new lesson about the greenhouse effect. I remember it vividly. At that time, it was "global warming." The scholastic news lesson was very dire and frightening. Gloom and doom was predicted by 2000. Years and years later when the earth didn't consistently warm beyond marginal amounts well within the margin of error, the global warmists casually tried to change the narrative to "climate change." I paid attention, and I remembered what they used to call it.

This was being taught to children who routinely have to trudge through two feet of snow to get to the boss stop. I knew, in 5th grade, something wasn't adding up.

In fifth grade, I was skeptical, before I even knew or cared what politics was.

But what I did know was that I loved the planet, that the planet should be respected, treated with care, loved, looked after for the future. And so I've done so all my life, including hiking a 40 mile stretch of the John Muir Trail solo. Regardless of the political jockeying, I've continued to make good decisions for myself and my impact on the planet.

Maybe A was acting out because this was her 9th consecutive birthday celebration being served up to strangers as entertainment.

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I should have mentioned that in addition to running these kids ragged all over town let's not forget the stress of the cameras following this all. I'm sure it involved a lot of stop and go as they get set up, make sure mic's are working, and all the other things production does. And looming for the kids is tedious couch interviews where they will have to rehash this all.

I'd be interested in how the thunder-shirt works for Gordon too. It didn't work for my dog's anxiety but many people have good results. We used it for daily anxiety as well as storms, wind, fireworks...Love Sea Gordon's Instagram !

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I was resistant to getting it because I don't want him to use as a crutch but walks still come with a lot of anxiety. He wouldn't get off the porch though one he finally did he would go okay. Little things would startle him like a car going by even at low speeds or walking through dead leaves. Oddly he is fine with thunder and fireworks, he has heard both. The vet was the one recommending the thunder shirt to try and since she has been just wonderful with him, I went for it. Jury is still out whether it has made a difference, I'm not really sure. I think time helps too and building trust.

Tomorrow's photo I'll be posting is a true beauty and shows how relaxed he is now on walks, most of the time.

lol I'm not sure what doing a solo 40 mile hike has to do with being a climate change denier, but obfuscate to your heart's content.

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I guess I'll have to spell out my point to you. My point is why is it so important to you people believe this theory, and it is just a theory no matter how much you want it to be fact. I would expect someone who is so scientific to understand the difference between scientific theory and fact. Shouldn't it be more important to your lot that the planet is taken care of, not who is right about which half degree or not? My point is, that from everything I've seen, it's NOT that important what does or doesn't happen to the planet (as evidence by people like you screaming the loudest about global warming meanwhile people like me who never mention it actually DO take steps to help the environment, like buying electric even though I had to pay a lot more) what's important to your lot is being right, apparently. What Al Gore does is absolutely relevant, as it shows that he doesn't REALLY care about the environment, but rather on making money off your lot who eats it all up. Politicians and interest groups make an incredible amount of money off this scam, and it is relevant, because these are the very people educating your lot on all these theories. Unless you claim to be going out there yourself with a rain gauge, you're getting your information from these people who have massive conflicts of interest and are invested massively in making sure this scam pans out. It's called bias.

You can believe in global warming or cooling to your heart's content. But when I see people trashing Joshua Tree when it was free to enter, I really question whether they understand why they believe what they do or really care.

Is it raining tomorrow? LA weathermen aren't quite sure just yet. But they do know what's going to happen ten years from now. Right. Think critically for once. What I don't understand is why can't we all just agree to take care of the environment because it's the right thing to do. If there weren't global warming after all, it sure doesn't sound much like you would care.

Blue Jay (27)I think the kids fully understand that they only get the big birthdays and the big vacations when they're filming.

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I wouldn't be surprised if this causes some real emotional damage to some of them as they're getting older. Sort of like, mom said she was showering us with the best of the best but the truth was she only did that on someone else's dime. On her dime we were lucky to get one of those grocery store stale half cakes and call it a night.

My dog, age 3, ( rescue girl) is often resistant to walks and she just flattens out and refuses to go, shaking and crying.54 lbs. She started this during huge construction of our streets and sidewalks 2 summers ago. But then after all these trainers and tools she started walking fine. But recently a loud construction noise like a bugle startled her back into her old pattern and she won't go.

Tucker's Mom was helpful with ideas. I hope Gordon maintains his security on walks- he looks like he is living the good life and he is a wonderful dog.

FlimsyFlamsy (32)Of course the kids' don't have a say in their own birthday parties. Kate makes it clear that each year's celebration is all HER idea. Remember their 10th birthday, when she decided to repeat the carnival theme from their 3rd birthday? The kids made it clear that they did not want that, but Kate (and TLC) had to have their way. The kids' birthdays are not a celebration of them, they're an orchestrated production for filming.

Did anyone read the article about Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan's custody? It's amazing how so many real celebs work so hard to make divorce as easy on their kids as possible. They understand their kids' emotional needs and put their own animosity aside for the sake of their child(ren). Channing Tatum decorated his daughter's room at his house to include pictures of her mother, requests reasonable time for both of them with their child, and he requests that they take her trick-or-treating together each year. He gets it. Goopy gets it. Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck get it. Kate does not. She has to claim sole control and then alienate them from their father so she can force them to film. She can't support herself, can't carry a show by herself, so she needs them under her control. Their emotional well-being means nothing to her.

In a couple years I wonder how harsh reality is going to be for some of these children. I'm sure they suspect Kate and her ways, kids are smart I don't doubt it, you have to be smart to survive a lot of things. I suppose I feel bad these kids might one day when they want something go into a store and realize oh, yeah, just because I want it now doesn't mean people are going to bend over backwards anymore. Or you know when they get that first job or anything normal like that.

I still have my doubts these birthdays now without being filed are going to be what they've been used to. Nothing wrong with a normal non filmed birthday party of course not. Or Christmas or any other holiday.

I however feel absolutely no pity come Kate's birthday in March where she won't probably be going anywhere on TLC's dime. And that's about time.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/weather/winter-weather-wednesday-wxc/index.html-----------------------------------------I hope every one stays safe and warm. It is horrible here. 11:30 am and only 22 below. Windchills 50 below. We have 3 cars that won't start even with battery charger on. Furnace won't stop running at all. Tomorrow going to be as bad and then a good warming for the weekend of in the 30's above 0. I have had water in sink running steady to keep pipes open. (well water in mobile home) I hope nothing breaks til it is warmer.

Now, admin, we do have to admit that our climate is changing. In fact, the Earth's climate has always changed, even before man existed. There have been ice ages, and there were periods of abrupt global warming at the end of the Permian, Triassic, and mid-Cambrian periods. Now, our little blog troll would have you believe that only humans cause global warming, but where were the humans during those ancient periods? That's right, humans didn't exist. Global warming happened without us. So, while I agree that we should all try to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions (which definitely contribute to an imbalance of CO2 in the atmosphere and, ultimately, to global warming), our troll should understand that global warming has happened--and will happen again--with or without us.

PS--son #3's roommate is an environmental science major and contributed to this post. Thanks, William!

Layla - agree with you, but it's the rate that it's changing that is concerning.Also, for people to conflate the fact that it's cold outside with the fact that there is no "global warming" is just, well...stupid. It's similar to anecdotal "evidence" that anti-vaxxers use. Unfortunately, people will use whatever facts they want to support their beliefs.

Ingrid...that sounds awful. Stay safe. And stay safe to everyone else who's experiencing this. It'll be 12 degrees here tomorrow but only for one day. 24 degrees on Friday and a warmup this weekend so I can't complain.

@Layla Just my opinion,Im kinda on the fence when it comes to global warming.Im not denying that climate change exists,i just don't believe all the crazy doomsday people that claim that were all gonna die in 12 years if we don't do something about it.Like that one Bronx lady is claiming(heck she even compare that fighting climate change today is our World war 2.like what?).I remember as a kid in the late 90s when i went to school and they talked about it and said that states like new york,florida,and some others will be underwater if you don't do something about climate change in 30 years and still to this day they say it even.Again,im not denying it but if its something that serious then why aren't the people that believe it that live in these states evacuating from them?I don't know,just my opinion,

Nicky--definitely, our CO2 emissions are making things worse. But it's mind-boggling that some people (like our resident troll, apparently) appear to believe this has never happened before, or that global warming is "caused" by humans. Not true, although our choices are moving things along much faster. Global warming/cooling is inevitable, but we all should do our part to reduce our impact on our environment.

It is awful. You can't imagine what that kind of temp is like (with winds of 15-20 mph) unless you experience it. I wore 2 winter coats to try my car this morning. We bought 3 new batteries for 3 cars so hopefully they still start tomorrow. My daughter's work is closed due to cold for 2 days and will get paid for it. Nice place! Schools across the state have been closed plus many businesses. I will have boots, snowpants and quilt in car when I drive to work at 4:30am. Short drive but I sure don't want to have to walk if I have trouble.

Enough global warming talk! So many people are dealing with extreme cold right now, including my family back home in Iowa. My poor nephew worked a few hours at his part-time job, which required him to be outside for short bursts of time. His face is burned, and he can't feel his fingers and toes. Poor guy!

if that somehow entitles you to ignore the preponderance of scientific evidence and support politicians like Donald Trump whose policies are incredibly detrimental to the environment.

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For some reason some people seem to think that those who QUESTION the validity of "global warming" are against protecting the environment. The point you don't seem to be getting even though it's been explained to you several different ways is that one need not believe in a scientific theory in order to believe that the environment needs protecting. However on balance, one also must consider jobs, budgets, and whether the change is being requested based on facts or just theories. The environment should be a big factor in decisions but it is not the only factor.

The problem is this, in addition to the many scientists that have questioned your scientists. Numerous predictions about global warming have not panned out. For example, there were dire predictions about oceans receding, ice caps melting, and the biggest hurricane seasons on records. None of this happened. The reason I bring up the polar vortex, is because there were even scientists warning us in 2000 children would never know what snow is. WITHIN A FEW YEARS. (https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/blogs/tim-blair/children-just-arent-going-to-know-what-snow-is/news-story/5a16c85680b7cc94f345240a727fb09d) Nineteen years later and here we are in a very dangerous and cold snap. Global warming is a tough sell this week but keep trying. It's a cry wolf situation. People seem to think they know what's going to happen to the environment and time and again they've been wrong. Is it a pride thing? It's okay to be wrong, it was just a theory to begin with. It hasn't panned out, and one would think your lot would be happy, overjoyed that the world isn't all going to shit like you thought it was. What a depressing way to live being part of your lot. Everything is so doom and gloom even when it's not!

The environment has changed and will continue to change. But unless you think all the Flintstone cars on the road caused the ice age, little to nothing of it has to do with humans.

It is awful. You can't imagine what that kind of temp is like (with winds of 15-20 mph) unless you experience it.

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I was once in one of the worst cold snaps in college where it was so cold I just started crying walking home from class, which was a bad idea because the tears would become this gummy frozen substance.

I am not a crier at all, but it was so painful and uncomfortable I just broke down. And you think you just want to be inside, but it actually hurts when you go inside too. Something about the warm dry air makes your ears and face hurt for ten minutes or so.

It's so hard to explain how something that cold feels to someone who has only experienced "cold" like 20s or 30s. But it does not feel good. STAY SAFE.

Another example. In CA they have tried hard to use their doom and gloom about CA being in a drought. Crazy governor Jerry Brown told us this drought was so bad the doomsday clock needed to be set at two minutes to description. He's so insane. In fact, the effects of what amounted to a very brief and normal for the area drought were largely due to incompetent governments who didn't properly store the plenty of rain that we got each year up north to use it throughout CA. So if we're out of water its because we never stored what we had. In fact, both 2017 and 2019 have seen plenty of winter rain to not even qualify us for a drought those years (we're expecting rain through Sunday again after several storms this winter.) So the hundred year drought amounted to no more than maybe 8 year and now it's over. It's things like that that really make one question whether any scientist has any idea how to make predictions about this thing, whether it's predicting the weather or climate, they stink at both.

When you look at the interesting history of CA through ancient times, it has experienced a variety of climates. Long before humans ever burned a single fossil fuel it has been transitioning. It has been through several long droughts, so droughts are very normal for the region. There were two ancient periods they've identified where freshwater nearly dried up over the course of about 70 years. They experienced a cooler period and an ice age. Once you deep dive into things like that global warming becomes a harder and harder sell.

I am hoping all of you in cold country are safe and warm. Hubby and I moved to Texas at retirement time to be closer to our son, the better weather conditions and because we appreciate the personalities of traditional Texans. We are watching the weather conditions of our friends and loved ones back home in the Midwest. Truly alarming.

There are many women in my family. We all seem to suffer more than normal under cold conditions. I believe we just thought we were wimps who would have made terrible pioneers.

A few years ago one of my nieces actually sought medical care during an excessively cold Winter. She learned (for herself and the rest of us) that there is actually a condition that is "allergy" to the cold. Cold Urticaria. In the old days, the symptoms were called chilblains.

Mother Nature always commands respect from mere mortals.

Stay safe. Stay warm. Those of us not affected by the Polar Vortex care about you.

I can see how the cold is more treacherous for those states that don't normally experience it. Where I live (Western Canada), this is a pretty common occurrence at least twice during a typical winter. But since we're used to it, we just carry on. My kids still had their school ski trip this week when it was -25 celsius (Around -15 fahrenheit I think?). But I've read some states will reach -45C - now that's freaking cold! -30C is unpleasant, but bearable.(sorry - I really have no concept of fahrenheit temps)

Wowser (#59), that show was one of the most pathetic displays of TFW's piss-poor parenting. She flew 3,000 miles away from her 8 children -- 6 of whom were quite young at the time -- and had a complete stranger move in to their house. Wait, what? They weren't lab rats, they were kids. Kids who had recently experienced the trauma of their parents' ugly and public divorce. And there were no "crew daddies" for this shoot: it was an ABC production. Okay, Deanna was there, but she was their mom's friend, not theirs. And you can call someone Aunt or Uncle So-and-So all day, but they are no replacement for a parent. She is a horrible mother.

The kids looked so numb and stressed out. The only one who was reasonably ok with a stranger moving in and taking care of them was Mady. It was unfair that Kendra was shown as the selfish mom, when Kate herself has said multiple times that she deserved breaks from the kids. Multiple spa trips and leaving her kids behind at every chance she had with Steve.Yet no word was mentioned about that. I also had to laugh when they painted Kate as the clean organized mom. I bet the farm that the network paid a cleaning crew to come clean her house. Otherwise her house is an unorganized mess.Another thing, she loved the idea of bossing little Hank around, although he didn’t let her LOL

Nicky said... 58 ----Don't feel bad. I don't know Celsius. I google to figure it out. -45C is -49F. We are used to cold in Wisconsin but this was worse than normal. It was -39F (-39C) this morning with very little wind. Night before the temp was a little warmer but the windchill was about -55F. I'd rather have no wind and lower temp. Most schools closed. Many businesses closed or shortened their hours. We are not used to this and if it was a common occurrence I would move!

It got up to -6F (21C) today before sunset. It felt pretty good. lol We are expecting 30's and 40's F above this weekend. I can hardly wait!

Admin, I have been to that point too. Watery eyes atleast but luckily not running down my face. I shiver so hard that I can't hardly keep my head still when driving (not good) til the heater gets going good.My feet will hurt in boots and double socks if cold enough not just my exposed skin. It definitely takes time for pain to go away and warm up. Even when "warmer" than what we had this week.

We made it through this polar vortex. It is already warming although not truly warm. I hope I am retired the next time we have one so I can stay home. It has been about 20+ yrs since the last one I think.

I did watch the Wife Swap episode. She is a mixed up woman of strong jealousy, strong opinions on order/schedule, a strong desire to dominate Little Hank and weak (transparent) flirtations with Big Hank.

I found her to be entirely unlikeable. Kendra wasn't painted all that kindly either. Though she was honest and seemed a "real" person.

Watching Kendra and Hank was interesting when you know what a crisis waits for them in the future.

I reviewed the recap for Wife Swap because I distinctly remember that Kendra and Hank took so many more positively lessons out of the experience than Kate did (who didn't take ANY) and I remember how OBNOXIOUS Kate was lecturing them about it all to the point of making Kendra CRY, who did not deserve to cry over this. Cow!! This sums it up:

"The bottom line is Kendra and Hank learned some wonderful lessons from all this, and they talk about growing up and spending more time with Hank Jr. Kate is so tearful that she helped Kendra accomplish this. Kate, you didn't do anything, it was spending time with the kids that made Kendra think."

I remember on CWS Kendra treated the kids with respect, shaking hands and using their names rather than 'boys' or 'girls' or kids' and she tried to get to know them. She asked the twins their hobbies and what they all liked to eat. She arranged treats for them and seemed to do her best. While Kendra is not a role model parent, I felt she was much more maternal and compassionate than Kate. And I also remember the treehouse was locked with a key kept by Kate- so odd.

Gigi (71) -- that was really a much better written article than most. I, too, learned information I hadn't heard before. Especially the section about Kate's parents. I don't believe I had ever seen a photo of them.

jolie (70) -- I do have an update about Dwindle, but it wouldn't be appropriate to share here. We were emailing just this morning. If you really want to know, please share your contact info with Admin (I hope she won't mind.) and I will get back to you.

In the past, I have informed Dwindle that she is mentioned here. I am sure it feels delightful to her that she is remembered for her wit and wisdom.

PS: Unrelated and ALL about me -- my son will be making his second attempt to complete a 100 mile endurance trail run this weekend. He tried 2 years ago and sustained an injury at 58 miles. He has completed several 100K trail runs. I will be on the sidelines. I am equally proud and worried about his "addiction". The trail/endurance runs are looped and take place in state parks with elevations, creeks, rocks and native wildlife.

He has signed me up for a 10K endurance run in April. He will be running 50 miles at the same time. He is sure that I will do well -- based on the fact that I have 12 hours to finish! All I have to do is complete the 10K and I will set a record for my age and gender. No female 71-years-old has competed. Go ahead -- shake your head or laugh. The reaction is deserved.

I remember that CWS was such garbage. Kate walking into Kendra's kitchen and saying there was a little clutter (it was a phone-charging area, I think)--but if you look at Kate's kitchen in any episode, it's extremely cluttered. Kate couldn't believe Kendra was sending Little Hank to pre-school, but Kate sent her kids to pre-school. She was judging Kendra for having a nanny/housekeeper, but Kate herself has employed many, many nannies and housekeepers. On that show, Kate was the "perfect" parent who did everything right, and Kendra was the imperfect parent who did it all wrong. Yet when Kendra realized how much work the G kids were forced to do, she cried (and that was just housework--it didn't include having to shoulder the burden of working to provide for their greedy mother from the time they were in diapers). Years later, Kendra is frequently pictured at the park playing with her kids. When is the last time Kate was seen doing anything fun with her kids (not for filming, that is)? Kendra is also often photographed at her kids' sports events. The G kids have never been able to participate in regular sports events, with the possible exception of Cara. They have to be available for filming, remember? Kendra never institutionalized any of her kids, and neither of Kendra's kids have left her to go live with their father. If there are custody issues between Kendra and Hank, they don't share them with the press. Time has told who the better parent was.

The treehouse thing was one of the oddest and mostly telling parts about Kate's parenting.

Someone is coming to the house to take care of your kids. Even if you want to keep the treehouse locked wouldn't you put in your manual oh and hey they love playing in the treehouse encourage them to show you, the key is in the far left kitchen drawer. I mean geez, to keep that thing shut down all the time and not even let the kids use it when Kate knows they're going to have lots of down time to play.

It's weird, even cruel to have something that and then not have it open for them to freely go to for a refuge.

What kid didn't wish for a treehouse their whole lives? If you ever saw Stand by Me you wanted one of those!

I would understand making the treehouse off limits for younger children without supervision. But, locking it up so no one can use it is selfish. It makes it into a set piece where only filming can happen.

While these parents are articulate, they have the most skewed logic. Naivete does not describe the condition that led to their decisions.

They are able to put together the story. They understand the manipulation. Yet...they do the make the most preposterous decisions. They accept the most bizarre activities. They are so emotional. Their pre-teen has been missing for months. But, they are so passive -- not even wanting to call the FBI.

I guess the adults are victims (except B). Dolly/Jan certainly is.

Had I been law enforcement on this case, I would have wanted to knock all their heads together.

You know what I find odd about this? Why wasn't the FBI able to pursue this guy without the parents' testimony? It came out later that B had been pursued for other cases in the past and had even served a year in prison for RAPE of a minor. Was this conviction not known? I get that this was far before a computerized national database, but still, you can't tell me the facts about this guy were not discoverable. Had the parents known about his priors, would they have done things differently? We'll never know. They bear the lion's share of the blame for this tragedy, but OTOH, I don't understand how law enforcement didn't nail this guy based on his record after Jan's first abduction.

Best of luck on your upcoming 10K, I have no doubt you'll do it! And swimmingly!

Will Kate post a Superbowl party spread..for four?? I doubt it. Plus she doesn't even know what sports her children are interested in....she could have posted about the 'historical' weather in PA but she let that go...I hope Hannah and Collin enjoy the hoopla of the game out with Jon. (and family)

I think she's probably conflicted about posting pictures of her Super Bowl spread. She'd love to throw together some chips and dips and a store-bought cake and reap praise from her fans about what an amazing mother she is. But then Jon could post a photo of himself with H and C out in some public place or at a real SB party, eating and socializing and having fun, and the contrast won't go unnoticed. Kids sitting alone in the basement vs kids enjoying a social event. Kids being isolated vs kids interacting with friends. It won't make her look good. And that's not accounting for the comments she'll get about how happy H and C look with their dad. I wonder if her need for praise will outweigh her knowledge of her own shortcomings. I guess we'll see very soon.

Layla (#84), TFW bragged that doing the show helped "culturize" her kids. But think about the circumstances under which they traveled. Yes, they took "posh" trips, but each one was under the supervision of TLC, and subject to the constraints of episode schedules and budgets. The kids weren't hanging out with the locals, or exploring places that appealed to them, or getting the feel of a particular location. There was no time for that. And they were followed by a film crew, which automatically created a barrier between the kids and any interesting people they might have met.

Although Mady looks very pretty in the picture it’s totally posed photo shopped because the girl has no pores! I see Kate’s hand at work here. The pictures that Colleen posted are very natural which makes them lovely. Collin certainly looks very happy and healthy.

kateplusmy8I am celebrating our food spread this year. Isn't it festive? I don't like either team, so we are watching and eating and celebrating but I couldn't care less who wins. #SuperBowl2018 #Whatever🙄 #BetterLuckNextYear 🏉🏉🏉

Well the extreme cold you're having over there has made the news here in Aussie land. I can't even imagine living through those sort of temperatures and I hope you're all managing to somehow keep warm. Climate change is very real and affecting the whole globe with extreme conditions. Over here we have floods and bush fires causing mass evacuations.Take care everybody.

As far as Kate goes, she is so incredibly boring. I was checking out some of her old blog posts from her days blogging for "The Stir" and she expresses herself like a ten year old. Lot's of flowery adjectives and no substance whatsoever. Sigh.

So for someone who wrote a cookbook, TFW’s spread is pretty telling. Everything is store bought and pre packaged and with the kids being older and having less of them, I’d think she’d have more time in her kitchen to make amazingish, creativish super bowl appetizers. Eyeroll

Have Kate and Colleen ever spoken/met?Kate’s ‘ always in charge and that’s never gonna change’ mantra blew up in her face.I bet she’s just ape shit crazy someone else is mothering her kids.What would really send her over the edge is Jon getting remarried- and the kids either IN the wedding party or in attendance. I can totally see Kate bribing the kids with a weekend getaway instead of attending.

Who would be eating all that food? Her paid friends? No crew around and not many kids left. It would be funny if we saw that the remaining tups were visiting Jon.No sign of people in the photos and it's all untouched. I wonder if she knew what teams were playing this year?

Wow, it looks like Jon just confirmed that TFW never visited Colin while he was away:

andria.rachelHe looks great! I do wonder though why Kate never shares pictures of him as if she never even sees or spends time with him 😞. You’re a great dad!

crystalstangland@andria.rachel I’m sure he doesn’t visit her by choice. Which is good. She sent him away to a program he didn’t belong in. So that’s a reason to not visit her.

stephanie10567@andria.rachel because he probably doesn't want to visit her seeing as she didn't go visit him when he was away at that program. She threw a party for the other 5 and didn't even go see him for his burthdays. He was completely excluded from the family. I wouldn't want to see her either after that.

alycianilsson@stephanie10567 you don't know that off social media and cameras that she didn't go and see her son or how often she does

barbarapendl@stephanie10567 how do you know if she visited him? Are you a close friend of the family?

Aww, such a sweet photo of Collin and Colleen at the beach! I hope she's stepping in and being a real mother to him. Goodness knows he needs that. It's also good to see Jon step in and set the record straight as far as Kate having visited Collin. We all knew she didn't visit--that's not how she does things. Once she banishes someone from her life, that person is gone for good. Collin was no different. But her fans have the standard "Do you know her? You don't know what happens when the cameras aren't there" response to any criticism of her. No, we don't know her, but we have seen enough to understand her personality. And once again, we were right.

Admin, your Gordon is so darn adorable! Call me a mushy sap, but I could almost cry thinking how lucky he is to be enjoying such a great life that you're giving him. In just a couple of months, it looks like he's come pretty far and has done so much.

Lol, comparing their Instagrams, Gordon has gone more places, socialized more (with people and other dogs), and had more fun in two months than TFW has in years.

By the way, your photos are really wonderful. I love the beach pic from this morning.

“Collin also reportedly only talks to Hannah, but Jon hopes that all of his kids can forge a “sibling relationship” in the future”

This makes me especially sad, since C was so close to his brothers. Thanks to that witch. Kate most certainly has no need to see Collin ever again. C is probably considered dead in that house, just like Jon is

We made it through that Polar vortex cold. It only lasted about 2-3 days. Yesterday felt like spring. The temps were 80+ degrees warmer than last Thurs. It went from -39 Thurs morning to 45 Sunday. Chilly again now but nothing like it was.

After losing out on temporary sole custody of her son Collin Gosselin, it seems that Kate Gosselin is opting not to see her son at all. According to her ex-husband, Jon Gosselin, she hasn’t tried to see Colin — and now he’s slamming her for it on social media. Though the mom-of-eight recently returned to social media, she has yet to publicly acknowledge her on-going contentious relationship with her ex or share an update about her relationship with Colin. According to Jon, that’s because she straight-up doesn’t have one.

On Monday, February 4, the former Jon & Kate Plus 8 star showed off pictures of his son, girlfriend Colleen Conrad, and him at the Philly Auto Show as they posed with cars and then headed to the beach. In the comments, fans noted how Colin seemed happy and healthy with his dad. One in particular, however, questioned where Kate fit into everything.

“He looks great! I do wonder though why Kate never shares pictures of him as if she never even sees him or spends time with him,” they wrote. Another fan snapped back, “You don’t know that off social media and cameras that she didn’t go and see her son or how often she does.” But in response to both, Jon explained that, yep, the first commenter had gotten it pretty much spot on. According to him, his ex spends approximately “zero” time with Colin.

Don’t hold back, Jon! This isn’t the first time he’s slammed his ex for not stepping up to the plate, though. Back in December, he also called her out for skipping the custody hearings altogether, simply letting her lawyer attend in her place. “That’s her,” Jon told Us Weekly at a red carpet event. “I would never… I would always go to court, no matter what.”

Kate Gosselin has not yet responded to In Touch‘s request for comment.

There's something going on with IG follower numbers, too. She's been stuck at 343K for at least 10 days now. The number creeps up slowly, then all of a sudden will drop by 200 or so. Early this morning she was just a couple dozen shy of 344K, then the number dropped down to the low 343,700s. And now it's back up to 343,840. I'm not sure if this is people genuinely unfollowing and being offset by her buying, or if IG is cleaning house. Regardless, the lack of steady increase over the last couple of weeks, which has been the trend on her timeline since day one, says something. I'm just not sure what.

Hi all. I still lurk from time to time. Dmasy, have never forgotten your kinds words to me 4 years ago.

I am disgusted with the latest developments concerning Collin and Kate's apparent lack of interest in this child. What is bothering me is that Kate never seemed to find the time to get Collin braces. I may be petty but it looks like he did not get the benefit of braces like his other siblings. Please tell me I am wrong.

I don’t understand her super bowl parties. She never talks about football the rest of the year. Why make a big deal about something you do t care about? Find a more creative way to spend the day if you are not into football.

Schmoopy's really in a pickle this time, huh? No way to "set the record straight" when Jon has confirmed she has ZERO contact with the son she sent away. Maybe M can photoshop her mom's head on top of Colleen's in that picture with C and pretend they were together.

You know what's sickening to me? The truth coming out in public will surely be more upsetting to TFW than the truth itself. I believe she has been perfectly content pretending C never existed. Exhibit A -- yesterday's Super Bowl post. Making memories! Togetherness! Yummy food! Never, EVER expressing a syllable of sadness or regret about losing her son.

My god, the level of snobbery on this blog is through the roof. What, exactly, is "pathetic" about it? Looks like pretty standard Super Bowl party fare to me. Nothing fancy, but certainly not "pathetic." What should be served at a Super Bowl party to prevent you and many other posters here from sticking their noses in the air and making snide remarks? Is there a ratio of homemade to store bought foods that should be adhered to? Are certain brands of chips off limits, or are chips themselves déclassé? Inquiring minds want to know...

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You're completely missing the point. Kate sold herself as this organic mom who slaves away in the kitchen all day putting together something special for the children she just loves. She sold many cookbooks this way. Unsuspecting fans gave her their money. She pocketed the money.

Her instagram posts, all of them, reflect just the opposite. In fact she's any ole shlub throwing together a Super Bowl party from the baked goods section of the Safeway. It's FINE, but it's never how she marketed herself and so like any other celeb if she is off her brand she's going to get called out. That's all this is. Nobody requires a certain kind of chips for parties, that is completely beside the point.

You know for the first time it occurs to me that instead of Kate trying to market herself as super organic from scratch mom, she should have just been herself and talked about all the ways she cuts every corner. Super Bowl on the fly. Because the reality is any busy mom even if she only has a couple kids wants to know how to spend less time putting together something great, not more. She'd have to pay someone to put this persona together for her to make it anything worth selling but at least it would be closer to the truth and a little dash of being genuine probably would have sold a hell of a lot more cookbooks. Win-win for TFW.

I watched Vanished In Plain Sight. In the show, I believed the father to be a closet gay. His affect was effeminate in nature. What heterosexual man would masturbate another heterosexual man and attribute it to 'normal teenage behaviour'. It is a sin to be homosexual in that faith. The whole show gave me the willies.

I watched Vanished In Plain Sight. In the show, I believed the father to be a closet gay. His affect was effeminate in nature. What heterosexual man would masturbate another heterosexual man and attribute it to 'normal teenage behaviour'. It is a sin to be homosexual in that faith. The whole show gave me the willies.

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With all due respect to their faith, their faith directly informed how they handled this situation and in my opinion, resulted in terrible things happening to their daughter that but for that, would not have.

Admin, your Gordon is so darn adorable! Call me a mushy sap, but I could almost cry thinking how lucky he is to be enjoying such a great life that you're giving him. In just a couple of months, it looks like he's come pretty far and has done so much.

Lol, comparing their Instagrams, Gordon has gone more places, socialized more (with people and other dogs), and had more fun in two months than TFW has in years.

By the way, your photos are really wonderful. I love the beach pic from this morning.

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Aww he makes me cry too and glad you're enjoying @Sea_gordon_the_rescue_pup 's photos! He has been so unbelievably rewarding to have and giving him a fun and interesting and varied life is pure fun. I do as much as I can with him as much as possible in part because he just deserves a nice life but also to just help him get adjusted and socialized so that as he grows up he won't be so nervous and scared of the big bad world and will be game for anything. I also discovered that it's not that difficult to come up with things for him to do and snap a pic of him doing it, so I'm not sure what Kate's excuse is for such a snoozefest instagram.

Sea still struggles with shyness, warming up, and TRUST of people. We continue to work on that. He is great with dogs, I shoved a boisterous pug in his face the other day who was pawing at him like a little T-rex and he was happy as can be about it. So that's covered.

He might still have issues to work on, but he really has come far in such a short time. Just think how far he will be by the summer. That's funny about the T-Rex pug. Good job, Gordon.

As far as TFW's Instagram being such a snoozefest, well that's because her life is such a boring snoozefest. She's so sheltered and isolated. There is literally nothing interesting about her or her life. I've never actually seen anything or anyone like her.

For some reason I've gravitated toward Sea, his given name in Korea (although in Korean it sounds more like bah-dah and nothing like the english word sea). Even though the whole intent was to name him Gordon after my grandfather. But, I also often call him Sea Gordon, both.

For some reason the name Sea confuses people on the phone or at dog parks, they think it's the letter "C" or think they misheard you, so when I'm introducing him to people who won't see him again or much, I just say his name is Gordon. Easier.

What I don't much call him is just Gordon, but many people call him just Gordon which is fine by me!

Well the extreme cold you're having over there has made the news here in Aussie land. I can't even imagine living through those sort of temperatures and I hope you're all managing to somehow keep warm. Climate change is very real and affecting the whole globe with extreme conditions.

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Climate change was not the reason for this year's cold snap. Cold snaps have happened almost every year or few years in the USA long before cars and emissions were ever on the road. You only need read Laura Ingalls Wilder's accounts of awful winters in the US when horses were still the only mode of transportation.

For example, there is very good historical documentation of terrible cold waves during winters in:

Paper Plates- hi !..and I agree with all you said. I think Jon will see to Collin's braces soon. I think he has glasses , seen hooked on the collar of his shirt in one photo. Maybe they are taking changes slowly as Collin re-acclimatizes to the real world, poor kid.

Marie- I don't believe that about the puppies. It's probably just a rumor to justify what TFW did. Even so, would you abandon your child like that? Hopefully not many people would.

Admin: I love Sea Gordon's Superbowl set-up! My dog has that same pizza toy, lol. I agree- with a pet, the IG opportunities are endless, but Kate has done so many dog ones just at home maybe she is trying to somehow fit the kids and 'traditions' in sporadically- with no kids - science project materials, the SB spread etc

Regarding snarking on TFW's party spread, she's made herself a target ever since she labeled her ex husband as "mediocre." When everything was on TLC's dime, money was no object, and she filled those Party City shopping carts with both hands. But when you're down to 75% of your kids, and you haven't had a paycheck in who knows how long, and you still have to pay for followers and monthly spa visits, I guess your party budget is gonna take a hit.

Of course if your heart is in it, you can make a fun and festive celebration on next to nothing. But I'm convinced TFW -- who abandoned her son in a way I still can't even get my mind around -- has no heart.

Admin, I absolutely agree with your comment. However, I dated an ex Mormon and he truly had difficulty breaking away from the faith and adapting to his new life. I won't get into specific details but I was acutely aware that he was having trouble adapting to the new way of freedom compared to what he knew for 50 years. He had difficulty even having an argument about something and I knew in his previous life, this was something he did not do for whatever reason. I tried to tell him healthy arguing is pretty normal between couples but he couldn't handle it. When he chose to leave the faith 5 years ago, his Mormon daughter was shocked, didn't understand why and said, "dad are you gay?". I thought it was an interesting comment to make to her father who had no tendencies towards that lifestyle. I don't mean to offend anyone here but this was my experience only.

So her IG followers are up 400+ since I posted last night. I'm thinking she's upped her buying. I don't know who she thinks she's fooling. TLC is surely on to this, and who would want her as an "influencer"? Not very fiscally prudent of you, K8.

Marie (132)I hate how Kate's fans love to speculate about awful things Collin could have done. Hurting puppies? Where do they get this crap? Nobody involved has ever mentioned any such thing. I guess their excuse that he hurt the other kids doesn't really work now since Hannah is okay with living with him, so they had to come up with something else. Where would he have been in a position to hurt puppies? He was long gone before they got Mak and Nanuq, and their house is pretty far from any neighbors. I wish these people would stop attacking him--he's a child, for goodness sake! No matter what he did--or didn't do (I still think he got in the way of filming, so--like everyone else who has gotten in the way of Kate's beloved cameras--he had to go) he still deserved some contact with his family. Instead, he was sent away and completely shunned. I hope he is getting counseling still, because that kind of rejection by his mother has got to be emotionally devastating.

Dear Admin ... for those few of us who don't follow Instagram would you share photos of Sea Gordon every so often so we can enjoy his cute things and his growth? I know I'd appreciate it and there might be others here who would too.

Have you tried to do training sessions with Sea Gordon at Home Depot. They are known for being a pet friendly store. Many of the employees even keep treats in their aprons. I found that it's a good place to practice recall in a distracting environment.

We were talking about the drownings and Smiley face killer story recently. Could have had another drowning Sat. night but police got him off the ice before he could. Alcohol .29 I watched the video but could only see him as he walked on the sidewalk.

Even if true, and it's not, real moms know nothing like that or even worse could cause a mother to stop loving and visiting her son. Jesus, even mothers of sociopathic serial killers love them and visit them.

Have you tried to do training sessions with Sea Gordon at Home Depot. They are known for being a pet friendly store. Many of the employees even keep treats in their aprons. I found that it's a good place to practice recall in a distracting environment.

Andrea

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He's been to home depot a few times but just road around in the cart. I am slowly starting to introduce some training in settings other than home. He is STUBBORN with training. I know he understands, he just doesn't want to do it. He can do sit, and "stop" on walks where he stops walking on command like as we approach a light. And that's about it lol. My first dog was so easy to pick up on tricks and training, precious little Sea Gordon though just doesn't seem interested!

He's been to home depot a few times but just road around in the cart. I am slowly starting to introduce some training in settings other than home. He is STUBBORN with training. I know he understands, he just doesn't want to do it. He can do sit, and "stop" on walks where he stops walking on command like as we approach a light. And that's about it lol. My first dog was so easy to pick up on tricks and training, precious little Sea Gordon though just doesn't seem interested!——————-My dog can be the same way. He knows the command down. If I say it he knows that I mean business. If a new person tells him he tilts his head to one side. He knows the word but he is not convinced that the net person means it.

Thinking about that sweet picture of C with Colleen, I can't help but wonder how TFW reacted to it. Was it rage towards Jon, Colleen and/or C? Or was there a fleeting moment of pain or sadness or even regret about having essentially lost her son? All snark aside, I find her to be a profoundly damaged human being, and I really am not sure if she the capacity for remorse for the way things have turned out.

My dog knows a lot of commands...but will only do them in a controlled situation i.e home and only rarely for others. If she is spooked by something she forgets her name or recall and no treat will motivate her to move or to stop running or barking.Having a non- food-motivated dog is difficult. Home Depot scares her although I think it's great for the dogs that do enjoy it.

Denise Richards just announced her 7 year old daughter has special needs. Not the kind of "special needs" you can mask with meds, but serious developmental delays. Denise's attitude towards her daughter is markedly different from Kate's. Denise says, “You take care of your children no matter what is going on with them."

Oh, you don't ship them off to an institution where they don't belong in the first place? Who knew??

Infrequent poster but I saw this comment pop up on Twitter under a story about Jon saying Kate's been MIA with Collin & thought I'd bring it over here:I think she just used the wrong words. He has needs, yes. But I happen to know those needs were related to anger management and Kate didn’t want to risk him being violent with his siblings to her, as he has in the past. I know most of the story through some mutual friends in in Pennsylvania. She never said he was on the spectrum, but he most definitely needed special need care to help him manage his reactions and social relationships. I honestly think she did what she could and did it right. A single mom and Jon has been MIA way more often

As far as anger issues go, a lot can be done at home and a counselor. There are even intensive outpatient programs for kids. So they can get the treatment they need but still remain in the home. There was no reason to dump Collin at a facility and never visit him. She abandoned him at the facility. Abandonment causes more mental trauma. Mental trauma that will require a lot more counseling later in life.

Court documents show that Jon was trying to visit Collin while he was in the facility. Kate kept this information from him even when the court ordered her to do so. She kept Collin from getting any family visitors. This caused further trauma.

She did not do this I. The best interest of Collin. She did it to get him out of her house and family.

Handinhand... then why did she never visit him or show up in court ?! There is more to the story than what you know.... she never did anything ever in the best interest of ANYONE but HERSELF... Sorry, not buying it.

I am convinced she didn't bother to show up because she knew the court was going to give custody to the better parent. The docs would have told her that, unless he was removed from her custody for cause, then they would have told the court and Jon.

@handinhand I found the tweet you were referring to.To be honest,i don't believe this person.How would they explain why kate didn't show up to court when jon was fighting for custody and him getting custody of collin?How many Kate fans keep claiming to know of somebody close to Kate or being good friends with kate's relatives?

I think she just used the wrong words. He has needs, yes. But I happen to know those needs were related to anger management and Kate didn’t want to risk him being violent with his siblings to her, as he has in the past.

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The sheeple have floated this story for awhile now as if discarding this child like trash is okay because he has issues. I don't care how threatening a child is to whoever, that is no excuse not to visit the child. Even children who have hurt or even worse to their siblings are still embraced by their parents. I'm reminded of Zac Stringer's parents. Zac shot and killed his brother, either accidentally or intentionally. Initially even his own father thought it was intentional and didnt visit him, but he never stopped loving him and keeping am open mind about what happened and eventually it started to come out that the rifle he was handling was part of a recall in which is would go off without ever even touching the trigger. Zac is out on probation now and thank god they didn't give up on HIM.

Kate PUNISHED and OSTRACIZED this child for having special needs instead of loving on him and giving him the confidence to know his mother was always there for him no matter what and that there was nothing he could do to jeopardize that. More than ever a kid with special needs must know their challenges aren't WHO they are and can't jeopardize a mother and father's love. COW.

And gee Kate is it any big shock a kid might learn terrible anger management skills from their mother?

That Twitter comment also said Jon was "MIA." TFW made it clear his parenting services were not welcome, and actually delighted in sharing that she didn't even tell him where his son was. She has publicly maginalized him at every turn for years, partly I think to keep up her "poor single mom doing it alllll alone" image.

No matter what C's issues were, I believe Jon was ready, willing and able to help him. But C was yet another pawn in TFW's game. She hates Jon more than she loves C.

Kate's the one with anger issues, beating toddlers. If Collin had them, probably they were learned in reaction to her treatment of the kids. And agree, she could have visited him, sent him home baked goods and surprises, celebrated birthdays and holidays and any day with him, been a mom, and fought for his control of whatever issues he has. Obviously family therapy would have helped. I agree outpatient services could have been tried although maybe they were. But at the end of the day, every long day for nearly 3 years, Kate was wrong. Not to tell Jon were his son was was wrong too. No way to defend Kate.

We are forgetting that maybe she was barred from visiting him.... I wonder if the court and the docs said no visits because he told about her abuse.... I don't think she would have voluntarily sent him away knowing he would be outside hercontrol and would be able to tell what she did....

True, good point. But still she could send him things to know she was thinking of him. Or couldn't they contact Jon if one parent was barred from visiting Collin? Change the custody? Idk how all this works but it's wrong to have happened this way to a young boy regardless of the situation.

I think she just used the wrong words. He has needs, yes. But I happen to know those needs were related to anger management and Kate didn’t want to risk him being violent with his siblings to her, as he has in the past. *******************

I'm sure Kate would like people to believe that Collin was a risk to others, but if that were the case, then why cut off all contact with the whole family? She could have visited, written to him, sent him things, participated in therapy with him, and even let his father see him. She didn't. She had no interest in him whatsoever. He was dead to her the moment he walked out the door. Any loving mother would try to offer her child as much support as possible, not cut him out of her life. Any excuse Kate gives, in my opinion, is completely self-serving. There's no excuse for shutting her child out. None. He was 11 years old! He was not beyond help. She just didn't want to be bothered helping him. And of course, she was more interested in playing her sadistic games with Jon than she was inletting someone be present for Collin.

I continue to believe that Collin got in the way of filming. She has always cut people out of her life completely when they interfere with filming. If Collin truly needed help, she should have been there for him. That's what a mother does. She completely failed him and there is no excuse for that.

I would agree about that theory but then why would Jon not be told ? Surely the kid deserves one parent to visit and go to therapy etc to help Collin. I guess we'll never know, really. Jon did say C was in a facility so the foster care theory is gone.

But I happen to know those needs were related to anger management and Kate didn’t want to risk him being violent with his siblings to her, as he has in the past.

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Yeah right. That sounds like something a narcissist like Kate would come up with... "It's his fault, not mine". She has a track record a mile long for doing away with anyone whose usefulness to her has expired. What makes you think her kids aren't an exception?

I doubt he was put into state custody. The state tries to preserve the family child relationship. He would have been placed in family before being put into an institution. If he had to be placed in an institution, they would arrange for family to visit him. The goal is always to keep the child with family. They are only removed from family custody if it’s the last option.

Yeah right. That sounds like something a narcissist like Kate would come up with... "It's his fault, not mine".

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Only the shittiest of parents blame their kids for their failure to love and support their child who has special needs. That's all this defense is, and it's really, really sad that there are people out there willing to throw Collin under the bus just to protect Kate.

Only the shittiest of parents blame their kids for their failure to love and support their child who has special needs.

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Someone with a better memory than mine would be able to reference it more accurately, but didn't Kate write in her journal that she was upset because Collin refused to apologize for his behavior when he was like two years old? TWO!! What fricking mother demands an apology from a toddler for doing what every toddler does at that age? To this day, because of her bent and twisted mind, she still refuses to take any responsibility. Unbelievable.

Its not just that Collin was sposed to apologize to Kate at two years old its Kates reason for the required apology, she expected him to apologize for HER behaviour. i.e. she got mad and lost her temper therefore its all Collins fault and he should apologize for that, sheesh, we dont even expect an ADULT to apologize for us when we CHOOSE to lose our temper, we did it, we own it, we learn and grown, but not Kate, she who is never with fault and to expect a toddler to understand this concept???? sick, evil and clueless, thats Kate.

Something to think about said... 157 We are forgetting that maybe she was barred from visiting him.... I wonder if the court and the docs said no visits because he told about her abuse.... I don't think she would have voluntarily sent him away knowing he would be outside hercontrol and would be able to tell what she did

*******************I don't think she cared whether Collin told people at the facility about her treatment of him. What are they going to do, take away custody? She never wanted him back, so she'd be fine with that, as long as it didn't become public and interfere with filming.

. . . She never wanted him back, so she'd be fine with that, as long as it didn't become public and interfere with filming.____

Which is why she didn't want Jon to get involved. He'd be bound to ask questions, especially since he hadn't seen his kid for a very long time before he disappeared, and it would certainly become public. Who knows, if Hannah hadn't spoken out to him AND stood her ground about moving in with him, Collin might well still be where he was dumped. I believe Hannah's involvement, as distressing as it must have been for her, has been the catalyst for things ending up where they have. Amazing, really, that any of the tups came out with so much will left. For as amiable and/or affable as the others seem, I don't believe any has the backbone to stand up to K8. At least not until they're out from under her thumb.

@Layla If Collin is violent,then whats with all the recent pictures that Hannah uploaded on her IG (when it was up)of both her and collin together?Wouldn't Hannah not only stay away from him but wouldn't a judge recommend to jon to keep him away from any of his siblings?I have no doubt Hannah was concern with Collin and did in fact tell Jon where he was,so the belief that Collin was away due to being violent to siblings seems highly unlikely.

It’s a reasonable possibility that Collin was having violent outbursts. Kids learn by example and we all know how Kate “disciplined” them. Plus we all also know the kids were never allowed to express themselves and be individuals. Nothing about their childhoods was normal.

My point is that even if he was having outbursts, who can blame him? I truly believe he was better off not being in Kate’s house. The fact that it took as long as it did before he went to live with Jon probably indicates he needed to be where he was, and the people in charge there helped facilitate his transition at the appropriate time.

Kate is a horrible person and a terrible mother, but it may end up that sending Collin away was the best thing that could have happened for him. I will never forget that Mexico episode where he gave her the mama bear and baby bear and she acted like it was the stupidest gift ever. He was crying out for her love and attention...expressing how he adored her and despite him having 7 siblings and a dad his “Mama Bear” was the most important one in the world to him...and she was so f-ing heartless.

Even if he did have issues with aggression, I’m sure he’s been taught coping skills and besides, in the environment in which he is living now, the stress level is probably 95% less than it was in Kate’s house. He’s being loved and recognized for being COLLIN and that’s what he has needed all along.

I have a daughter that’s three months younger than the sextuplets and had they been full term would be even closer to them in age, so I’ve always had a soft spot for all of them. I think Hannah and Collin will eventually be able to help the others as they start to realize just how awful Kate was to all of them.

Bubbles, Jon did not find Collin until this summer. Kate defied court orders to tell Jon where Collin was. Jon started the to plan to take custody of Collin soon after he found him. Custody changes take months. It’s clear that Collin started to do weekend visits to Jons house before Jon was granted full custody. These visits insured a smooth transition to living with Jon full time. The reason Collin did not go home with Jon before now is because Kate kept Jon from having a relationship with Collin.

While I totally commend Jon for fighting so hard for Collin, finding him and likely working with the facility on bringing him home, and pursuing it in court, I also think that Colleen must be one hell of a woman and mother. She's obviously very supportive of Jon and Collin. I think she's probably a very big factor in this whole process.

Also, I think her kids are older and in college. She could have been enjoying some quiet empty nest time with Jon, yet she opened up her home - and her heart - to both Hannah and Collin. I think she's great for Jon and for the kids, and I wish all of them a wonderful life and future together.

I’m still trying to wrap my head around Kate not showing up for the custody hearing.Why didn’t her attorney show up?========IMO, TFW didn’t show up because the judge wouldn’t grant the delay she asked for so it didn’t fit into her schedule. Lord knows she can’t be inconvenienced even for one of her kids. And, truth be told, if Collin can’t film he’s of no use to her. Why didn’t the lawyer show up? If the lawyer had showed up TFW would have had to pay him. Why pay for something you don’t want or don’t really care about.

Former lurker, regarding Colleen, there was also a report on here that Colleen actually bought a larger house last year! Seems to me, she would do anything within her power for Jon and the kids. The fact that she is in the medical field also probably would have helped at any custody hearing.

I posted about Colleen's new house. I know someone who knows her, and the house came up in a conversation about C's situation (the fact that the house has plenty of room for C, if Jon got custody--which he did!). It's a large, nice house in a very upscale community and in a great school district. Ideal for kids. Jon and Colleen are well-equipped to provide C and H with a very nice lifestyle, and one that the kids don't have to work to pay for. They can just be kids and go to school and spend time with friends. I hope C and H enjoy many carefree years before they have to worry about paying a mortgage again.

Something to think about may be on to something with the banned from Collin's institution theory. My bipolar sister was 86'd from every ambulance and medical facility after our Mom had a stroke last year while we were vacationing in the French Caribbean. She's like Kate's evil twin. It's possible she was flagged on their security list, as my sister has been in so many situations. I'm now done with her sadly.

Also, I see Kate is going to be featured on one of the entertainment shows on the 13th of next week. So this dating show is happening, but she can't bother to show up to court to fight for Collin? Wow, some science fair project... what is she eating the paste while she glues down a half dozen scraps of paper to a poster board? It's just totally absurd.

Miss you all - and don't forget to catch the Mr. Roger's Won't You Be My Neighbor. It's on PBS and cable tonight, and starts in a half hour.

Also, I see Kate is going to be featured on one of the entertainment shows on the 13th of next week. So this dating show is happening....========There’s still no listing for it on the TLC website that I could find. If it does air it will probably be used as a filler.

Dmasy: I don't know you but I am glad you are back. You said some powerful words to me 4 years ago. I printed out those words and hung them up on my wall and looked at them every day. And you were 100% right. My life is flourishing and I am reaching goals I never thought possible. Seriously. I was recently hired for a job I had dreamed about my who working career. This was five days after retirement from an amazing career. Boy would I like to meet you!!

Layla said..."Jon and Colleen are well-equipped to provide C and H with a very nice lifestyle, and one that the kids don't have to work to pay for. "

I shouldn't be surprised but I am. Firstly, good on Jon for finally following thru and saving his son! Impressive stuff. However, why is he such a leech with women? And why do women fall for it?

The day I bought a 'bigger house' for a man is the day I'd re-evaluate my life. I believe relationships should be equal in everything. It's not like Colleen is the first woman to financially support Jon. Hello Hailey and Ellen, too.

Lays, you said that the new house is in a great school district— did the kids have to switch schools?I guess my mind can’t resolve that Kate didn’t show up for the custody hearing— any mom that loves her kids will fight to the death for them— and that’s where I forget to apply that Kate only loves herself. Applying that logic makes complete sense as to why she didn’t show up for court. (But why not send the atty anyway??)If she’s scheduled for an interview on the 13th it will be interesting if there are any questions about H and C. I wonder what the other siblings think about her not showing up for court regarding custody.

Paper Plates Forever, I remember you name through the years of posting here. Sadly, I do not recall what I said that meant so much to you. However, I am glad that I shared some words that resonated in your life.

You made my day! We never know when what we do will leave a mark.

Congratulations on your new job and all the positive things that have happened to you.

You probably know, hubby and live in Texas. Hill Country. Smallish German town between Austin and San Antonio. I would love to meet you any time you are near.

However, why is he such a leech with women? And why do women fall for it? The day I bought a 'bigger house' for a man is the day I'd re-evaluate my life. I believe relationships should be equal in everything. It's not like Colleen is the first woman to financially support Jon.

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I am not sure what financially Jon contributes to the relationship and what Colleen contributes, I haven't seen their financial spreadsheets, so I'm not sure where this is coming from.

Second let's assume Colleen has contributed more financially. Let's flip the roles. If Jon were the main breadwinner and Colleen less so, would you say that marriage was not "equal"? It's kind of a double standard, since for most of the better part of time, men usually made more in the relationship than woman. They probably mostly still do, but not always. That doesn't make a relationship in and of itself unequal. Most women would say it was equal because I raised the children, ran the house, did all the chores and shopping, kept the family organized, etc.

I make more than what my other half makes but I don't see our relationship as unequal nor do I "support" him. It's a non-issue, big deal. There are a million and a half ways to contribute to the relationship that aren't financial. Everything from unloading the dishwasher to running errands for me to taking the dog for a walk when I'm under the weather or swamped with work. If he made a lot more money than me but didn't contribute anything like that of the tangible things, I think I'd be less happy. Most things we split equally but for the things we don't the person paying less always finds a way to bring some kind of value to it. Money needs to be discussed and agreed on and divisions should be fair but I think when you start trying to play the "is it equal" game, especially when it's almost impossible to find a partner who makes EXACTLY what you make, you're treading into unhealthy "keeping score" territory which dooms most relationships.

How is Jon a leach? He has a full-time IT job and also DJs occasionally (although I heard he has cut back on that to be able to spend more time with H and C). I'm sure he is contributing to their finances. The house is in Colleen's name, but that makes sense to me. They aren't married, after all. I'm sure they are both just fine with the arrangement, or they would change it.

Old poster said... 187 Lays, you said that the new house is in a great school district— did the kids have to switch schools?****************Hannah started at a public school this year--Jon mentioned that at the beginning of the school year. And Collin will probably be going to the same school. He left their private school even before he was sent away, so it's been a long time since he was a student there.

IMO, TFW didn’t show up because the judge wouldn’t grant the delay she asked for so it didn’t fit into her schedule.

*****************I'm sure you're right. She probably had an appointment for a manicure or maybe a spa day planned. Priorities, you know.

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I think she saw the writing on the wall and knew she was going to lose. No judge is going to give you custody if you haven't even bothered to visit your child. She knew she was sunk, and so like many narcissists, she's a coward, and doesn't have the guts to show her face and take her medicine.

It's interesting that Joan Crawford, mommie dearest's namesake, also shipped her daughter Christina off to boarding school when she was 10 years old, never to return home. Apparently she was becoming too "difficult" to handle. I think 10 is around the age that kids start to see the difference between what's right and what's wrong more clearly. The problem is, being the child of a narcissist, if they physically or verbally oppose that parent to any extent, they'll suddenly find their bags packed for them. Narc's don't allow anyone to question their conduct. Flogging your kid with a wire coat hanger or picking them up by their hair and tossing them into the crib is not the issue to them, they simply refuse to have their authority challenged. Thumbing her nose at the court appearance shows how little Kate cares about her child. She'd risk never having him home again rather than admit she failed as a mother.

Dmasy, after my marriage ended and I was devastated, you told me to take time and to get to know myself. Don't rush into anything. At the time I knew that was right but didn't want to accept it and apply it to my life. I couldn't imagine that I would have to be patient and wait for good things to come my way. They did. BTW, I got a gig as a coroner. My dream job. Seriously. Nice way to supplement my gov't pension. Heh.

PAPER PLATES FOREVER

Every time I write my user name I think about the fact that selfish ass still uses paper plates. How many years now has it been that she has not given a shit about the environment.

Wait a minute. If you're a coroner, WHY are you getting a government pension?

These are the qualifications for a coroner job title: A bachelor’s degree in biological science, criminology, anatomy, or forensic science can qualify one as a coroner. In many cases, it is certified doctors who fill the role of coroner.

So, if you're a certified doctor or close to it, wouldn't you be exempt from a government pension? I'm most likely wrong but government pensions are for the poor. And you shouldn't need to supplement it if you don't qualify for it.

I should have stated: You can work elsewhere after you retire from your place of employment AND collect your pension.

It’s your money that you invested all the years you worked. It’s taken from your pay BEFORE taxes and taxed later at a much lower rate. You have to be of a certain age to start collecting on your pension.

If you take it out earlier you are taxed at the much higher rate and penalized. Just like any retirement plan.